Chapter 159
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159
“How is Lady Lauren Marshall’s trial progressing?”
“The first trial ended with nothing more than a confirmation of both sides' positions. They’ll start tearing into each other during the second trial, which is a month away.”
“She really is a foolish woman. She drags her feet when she should be swift, then charges headlong when she ought to wait.”
Tez silently agreed with Bella’s assessment. Attempting murder at a time when the capital was already reeling from the Fellon family’s strange succession news was utterly reckless.
“Lady Marshall will likely want to hire a competent lawyer, even if it means liquidating all her assets. But I wonder… who would want to take on a case that’s so clearly a losing battle? It would only draw the ire of high society.”
“Still, the Imperial Family didn’t resort to torture or direct interrogation, did they?”
“Since it’s a matter concerning a single family, the Imperial Family likely won’t intervene to that extent. However, His Majesty the Emperor is keeping a close eye on the case himself, so it won’t be handled lightly.”
Bella’s lips felt parched.
‘If that woman lets my name slip, I’m finished.’
It was Bella who had goaded Lauren into killing Trisha. It was Bella who had supplied the means for the murder.
She had moved with her identity hidden as much as possible. Joseph Alden didn’t know Bella was the one who had connected him to Lauren, and Albert was equally ignorant of what the medicine he provided was actually being used for.
But Lauren—Lauren alone—could confess that Bella was her accomplice.
‘I might be able to deny it, but I won’t be able to avoid a summons to the Imperial Palace for questioning. If the investigation expands to Albert Kingsley, I won’t be able to hide the truth any longer.’
Her fingertips went numb and began to tremble. A surge of indignation welled up within her at her own plight, cowering like a common criminal.
‘If she had just acted on her own from the start, I wouldn’t be in this mess!’
An accomplice in an attempted murder case would serve at least three years in prison, regardless of the circumstances. If that happened, not only Cedric, but even James would surely abandon her.
“I wish that woman would just drop dead of a heart attack.”
Perhaps hearing her mumble as she clawed at her hair, Tez half-rose from his seat.
“You wish Lauren Marshall would die? Why? Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Bella.”
“What good is it for you to know when you can’t do anything to help? My head is already about to explode, so just leave me alone.”
Bella hugged her knees and buried her head. Her huddled form looked utterly pathetic—so much so that, even without knowing the full story, one would instinctively believe Lauren Marshall must have been the one in the wrong.
“I don’t know if it will help, but I happen to know one of the guards at the prison where Lauren Marshall is being held…”
At his words, Bella slowly raised her head. A faint glimmer of hope flickered in her tear-filled eyes.
“Really?”
Tez smiled as he looked into the emerald eyes turned back toward him. He believed he had found the perfect bait to sink his hooks deeper into her.
Whether he truly could, however, was anyone’s guess.
*
One day, about a week after the conclusion of the first trial, Harriet climbed into a hired carriage that had pulled up to the gates of the Fellon Estate.
It wasn't an unusual sight. She often called for a hired carriage whenever the estate’s own coaches were in use or when she was attending to strictly private matters.
However, upon entering the carriage, she found Cedric waiting for her. Despite the lingering late summer heat, he was dressed in an immaculate gentleman’s suit.
“It’s been a while.”
It truly had been a while, yet his greeting was as natural as if they had seen each other only yesterday. Was this the first time they had met since the opening ceremony of the Pelodier Theater?
“Yes. It’s good to see you again. How have you been?”
“Well, thank you. And you, Miss Harriet?”
“Oh, me? I went to Einspora and back, observed the trial, helped Aunt Roxana prepare evidence…”
Harriet’s voice trailed off, and she gave a weak, self-conscious laugh.
In truth, this wasn't what she wanted to say. She wanted to ask how he had really been, if he had met Bella again, and what they had talked about.
‘Of course he met her. He’d just give a businesslike answer anyway. Why am I so curious when I already know?’
A self-deprecating smile escaped her. There was no reason to ask such questions unless she wanted to indulge the petty jealousy lurking at the bottom of her heart. Besides, what if he actually answered with something like, ‘Yes, we met. We got along surprisingly well’?
‘Idiot. What am I doing, coming out here just to give a progress report?’
It seemed she was the only one treating this situation with personal feelings. Cedric remained as detached as ever. To avoid revealing her inner turmoil, Harriet asked a predictable question.
“What should our next move be?”
Cedric, who had been quietly observing her, allowed the corner of his mouth to curve slightly before speaking.
“The Lauren Marshall case is actually the ignition point for a much larger incident. The medicine she gave Lady Fellon is a poison currently rotting this empire from within.”
“You mean <Angelic>?”
“Yes. In fact, the medicine used on Lady Fellon has slightly different ingredients from <Angelic>, but the primary raw material is the same. And that raw material is the root of all our problems.”
He cast his gaze out the window for a moment. The hired carriage was traveling slowly down a quiet road, exactly as pre-arranged. The rhythmic clatter of hooves felt strangely familiar.
He suddenly recalled the time he and Harriet had ridden in a carriage together, passing beneath the Genoa City Gate. Of course, he couldn't voice that thought.
“…Anyway, because of that, Miss Roxana Fellon or you might be called as witnesses.”
“I’ll testify as much as needed! In fact, I’m practically begging for the chance.”
Cedric chuckled briefly at her enthusiastic response.
“How is Countess Fellon faring?”
“My grandmother?”
Harriet wore a troubled smile, as if unsure how to phrase her answer, before speaking with difficulty.
“The new medicine suits her well, and the hot spring baths seem to have helped a lot.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Thanks to that, her condition hasn’t worsened, but… it hasn’t noticeably improved either.”
The smile faded from her face.
“Grandmother says it’s greedy to hope for more, but I keep wanting to plead with Lord Yawar. To beg him not to take her away—at least until I can repay even a small part of the debt I owe her…”
A sigh escaped her. Trisha, the true lioness of the Fellon family, was brave and fearless, but Harriet was not. Losing another person she could fully rely on was painful even to imagine. She didn't want to experience that kind of grief twice.
But she couldn't reveal these fears to Roxana, so all she could do was roll her rosary beads and pray alone every night.
Just as regret began to creep in—wondering if she had needlessly shared a hopeless wish with someone who might not care—Cedric leaned forward and placed his hand over hers.
“I understand that feeling well. And I also know that no words can truly comfort you.”
At his words, Harriet’s eyes welled with tears. She knew he wasn't just offering empty platitudes. Cedric had lost his respected and beloved father on a brutal battlefield. How despairing must he have been? How afraid?
Because she could imagine his pain, she found she could be honest with him.
“I’m scared. I’m so scared Grandmother will pass away.”
Even at her childlike confession, Cedric merely squeezed her hand a little tighter, refraining from any pretentious words of solace. That silent empathy was, surprisingly, a great comfort.
She took deep breaths until her heart calmed. Even then, Cedric’s hand remained firmly on hers.
“…Thank you.”
“I haven’t done anything worth thanking.”
“You always say that. When Your Grace is this modest, it actually puts us in a difficult position.”
Cedric’s gaze lingered on Harriet’s face, which was finally able to manage a smile.
‘I’m the one in a difficult position.’
He found himself wanting to test how far this innocent young lady, who didn't even tell him to remove his hand, would tolerate him. Even though there was a coachman outside, Harriet showed no wariness at all, despite being alone with him in the enclosed space.
As a gentleman, he should have been proud of the trust he had built, but for some reason, he felt a flicker of dissatisfaction. It was as if she didn't see him as a ‘man’ at all.
Cedric lowered his gaze to their clasped hands and asked impulsively, “If I were to say I missed you, would you laugh?”
“Pardon…?”
Harriet blinked, flustered by the sudden question. It felt as if her mind was spinning. Was he joking? Was this some kind of riddle with a hidden answer? What was she supposed to say?
As those thoughts tangled in her mind, her mouth moved of its own accord.
“And Your Grace? If I were to say I missed you, would you laugh?”
Harriet herself couldn't fathom what she was thinking when she blurted that out. But Cedric smiled so brightly it was as if her words were the exact answer he had been hoping for.
“I really can’t win against you.”
“W-what do you mean by that?”
Instead of answering her flustered retort, he simply gazed at her and said, “I missed you.”
“…”
“Quite a lot. Enough to surprise even myself.”
Harriet failed to deflect his confession with a joke. She had never imagined that the words she wanted to say, but could never utter, would be stolen from her in such a way.
What weight did those simple words carry for this man?
‘I missed him so much, yet I couldn't bring myself to say it. But for you, it’s so easy. Such an easy thing.’
It felt as if the rest of the world had gone silent, as if her ears were plugged with waterlogged cotton, leaving only the sound of her own racing heart.